I’ve been using PrimoFlex LRT for years and it’s great. Unfortunately they discontinued the 3/8 ID 5/8 OD in the UV Blue color. I’m so bummed about it but I’m also not going to replace all my fittings for a different size that they make the UV blue version in.
$40 for 10 ft is kind of steep for something that’s going to be not in the color I wanted. I can get 100ft of several different types of that stuff at Lowes for $40 and still the 5/8 OD thickness. They make it in PVC, reinforced PVC with nylon braid and Polyethylene. I’m not sure what the PrimoFlex tubing I’ve been using is made of but it feels like PVC. Maybe it’s not though. I care a lot about longevity and don’t want to put something in my loop that might cause corrosion or gunk buildup. So what do you guys think?
Tl;dr will putting hardware store PVC tubing in my build cause long term problems?
For the absolute best long term no fuss tubing, I would recommend EPDM tubing, like EKWBs ZMT (zero maintenance tubing). But it is black only.
If you want coloured or clear, I have used hardware store tubing. But I was accepting the possibility that it might go wrong and I might have to do some serious cleaning or change coolants. Also, I only used it where it couldn’t be seen so that if it turned colour it wouldn’t matter.
I’ve used tons of different soft tubing over the years, Primochill LRT really is the best. IMO the stuff from the hardware store never works.
